21 June '11

“Equally mind-boggling was the scheduling of this patronising rubbish at 10pm.” Read on for the verdict on last night’s TV.

James May’s Things You Need To Know, BBC2

“As we were led through the wonders of the human body, the questions posed were relentlessly populist – why are teenagers moody; why do we get hangovers; how are babies made? – but there was nothing standard in the cartoons used to answer them.”Alex Hardy, The Times

“It’s quite basic genetics, but don’t forget this is the human body for the Top Gear viewer, so it can’t be too complicated. And it must reflect the mentality of the Top Gear viewer too, so James focuses on the sort of bodily functions that will be of most interest to him (I say him because I think he will mainly be a he).”Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Equally mind-boggling was the scheduling of this patronising rubbish at 10pm, when the nation’s primary schoolchildren were tucked up in bed. They might have enjoyed the studiedly jaunty animation, school of Terry Gilliam circa 1970, and might also have warmed to May’s Jackanory-style delivery from his wing chair. But as a programme for grown-ups it was sorely lacking.”Brian Viner, The Independent

“Things still are being made in Britain but more discreetly Quite often too they are things for which demand is limited. In this situation, as Evan pointed out, there lie both the roots of our past doom and the seeds of our future renaissance.”Matt Baylis, The Express

“Seems that reports of British manufacturing’s death are exaggerated. We just manufacture different things – more specialised, high-end products. And that’s good news, says Evan.”Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

On the whole, he took an optimistic view of the future and even of the present, asserting that as we get better at manufacturing, so we need fewer people to do it, and the job losses that inevitably ensue are a sign of success rather than failure.Brian Viner, The Independent

“It is transmitted at a time when the nation’s primary schoolchildren can enjoy it, a clever piece of scheduling for another series that could be |interpreted as an insult to grown-up intelligence. And yet, while I’m not sure how or why it works, somehow it does.”Brian Viner, The Independent